importance of speaking two languages (Essay Sample)

Should American Students Be Required To Learn A Second Language? Obed Oluvinzo Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology Should American students be required to learn a second language? There is a heated debate from stakeholders, such as the academic community, civil society, parent’s teacher association, and the Congress as to whether learning a second language is important and it should integrate into the school curriculum. Different states from the United States of America has set a requirement that high school kids should at least learn a foreign language to earn high school diploma credits. Many colleges and universities have also included knowledge of a foreign language as part of their degree requirements. However, despite the ongoing debates, it is extremely beneficial to understand the myriad of benefits provided by learning another language. Learning a second language assists students with their critical thinking skills. A secondary language also nourishes an individual’s problem-solving skills, because the individual’s memory has to swiftly compare the dialects of all the languages that he can speak. According to research from credible sources, students with an understanding of foreign languages, performed much better in the analytical related subjects such as mathematics and sciences, compared to students who do not understand the second language (Lybeck, 2012). By grasping a secondary language, a student is accorded with a golden opportunity to immerse in a new culture, because, the student not only learns about the new language, but also the origin, heritage, history, and traditions as well. It is in light of such a mindset that the student develops a sense of responsibility through respecting other people’s culture (Banegas, 2012). Finally, grasping of a second language enhances the student’s job opportunities. Due to our globalized village, the ability to communicate in more than one language is an invaluable skill towards a person’s career choices (Johnson, 2015). Due to an increasingly diverse workforce, most employers today prioritize applicants who can speak more than one language. It is, therefore, advisable that students should learn more than one foreign language, and it ...